Quote:
Originally Posted by Fred Brackin
Oh no, it's far too punitive. Shotgun ballistics are a terrible analogy anyway. Shotguns stuff goes at c.1100 fps which is a regime where solid matter (like steel anyway) tends to stay solid.
Even the minimum velocity of 1 mps isan area where things like Depeleted Uranium begin failing.
Above 2 mps you're looking at regimes where every gram of a projectile's mass (and the mass of any armor it's in direct contact with) explode as if they were made entirely of TNT or improbably more powerful explosives. Nuclear intensities in the kiloton range are not that hard to arrange.
This is the problem with trying to nerf KE space weapons. They really are that powerful in any realistic treatment. If you're abandoning realism do it comprehensively and with style. KE weapons are simply ineffective for the following <insert technobabble) reason. Not that they are only comparatively less effective than energy weapons.
It's a lot less work too. You can give your PCs a flat statement about why no one used KE weapons rather than doing all the work of re-jiggering the weapons tables and then making them figure out that no one uses KE weapons after they've pored over the tables several times.
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Hmm... that does suggest that, for Space Opera battles that take place at distances and speeds that make WWII dogfights look vast, perhaps the projectile
velocities are diminished. In fact, if I posit some superscience jamming system or force shield that can basically guarantee deflection for missiles fired from beyond Short Range, missiles will not be able to accelerate to "optimal" speed: TL 7-8 missiles will hit with a minimum speed of 1/3 mps rather than 1 mps, while TL 9+ missiles will have minimum 1 mps instead of 2 mps. Missiles will still be able to inflict significant damage, but will need to be fired basically point-blank (ie, by snub-nosed fighters on a close attack run =P ) and the damage potential will be mitigated. Combine that with the aforementioned HP rescaling, and it won't be instantly lethal for the target. Also, because of the close engagement range Nuclear warheads will be harder to use, except by kamikaze bombers.
The main purpose of missiles will be to allow these small agile ships to inflict significant damage against vital subsystems (getting close in to mitigate the targeting penalties, while using some of the cinematic options from SS4 to avoid the bulk of the defensive fire). It would make sense if subsystems could only be targeted using direct fire attacks, rather than proximity burst; this would also help the attacks overcome the DR.
Overall, I think this is a satisfactory concession to the genre, without throwing out
too much of real physics.